At first, the man seemed very ordinary. He talked about how he studied engineering in
college, how at first he worked for big companies, but soon realized he wanted
to be his own boss. So he started an
engineering company, designing mostly machinery for factories. He sold his first two companies and now owns
a third.
Then he talked about a man he knew from Chicago, who moved
to LA to try to make it as an actor. The
man worked as a carpenter with Howard (the engineer) and ultimately got his big
break in the movie American Graffiti.
Then he landed a major role in a science fiction movie called Star
Wars. It was Harrison Ford! Over the years, Howard has remained friends
with Harrison, whom he described as “a pretty boring guy.”
I have no idea why this man was telling me his stories, but
I was captivated. I’ve learned, in life,
that sometimes you just need to stop and listen.
I told Howard about how I’m an English teacher and that I
own an art gallery in town. Then he
started telling me about the art he does, in his spare time. Because of his engineering background, Howard
enjoys technical drawing, so he makes schematic drawings of cars, motors, and
machines, programs them into his computer, and then engraves them onto prepared
sheets of steel. I said I’d be very
interested in seeing his work, and I told him about my friend Pete Magoski, who
is also an engineer, and whose schematic drawings of planes and spacecraft
deserve to be exhibited. They are a
fascinating marriage of art and science.
As my bus arrived, Howard gave me his card, and as I rolled
away, I was totally inspired. I want to
curate an art show about the marriage of art and science, featuring the work of
Howard and Pete. When I arrived at work,
there was a song stuck in my head… “Today was a good day…”
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| My friend Pete Magoski, standing by the Endeavour Space Shuttle. Photo by Michael Magoski. |